One Certain Remedy for Anxiety

I would like you to turn your Bibles this morning to John chapter 14.

John 14 · chapter mention

! And I would like to ask that you follow in your own copy of the Scriptures as I open the

Bible. We're going to rely upon this morning to challenge our hearts and help us see the Lord

Jesus more clearly. John chapter 14, beginning there in verse 1.

John 14 · chapter mention

Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. In my Father's house are many

rooms. If it were not so, wouldn't I not have told you that? I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself,

that where I am, you may be also. Most of us have probably at one time or another heard that

passage read in the context of a funeral. How many of you have been there? And it's almost,

it kind of ranks right up there with the 23rd Psalm. Most funerals somehow or another get to

that passage. I shouldn't say most, but many. And this morning, I don't want to put you in kind

of a funeral mindset and think, well, here we go. A pastor's going to do a funeral sermon. Not at all.

Not at all. I want you to think very carefully about this passage and its application to all of our

lives and particularly to the fact that we live in a broken world where we, on a daily basis, struggle

with all kinds of challenges. I do want you to understand that John chapter 13 verse 1 in some

John 13:1

way serves as an introduction for all that you're going to find in John 13 through 17. So let's go

back just for a moment and look at John chapter 13 verse 1 to frame what we're going to discover in our

John 13:1

lesson in part today. Now, before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come

to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them

to the end. There is a sense in which John, as a good author, gives us right from the outset an overview

of what is going to follow. And if we were to break down the passage that this section is part of,

the larger context is Christ's ministry to His disciples in the shadow of the cross.

And as you think about what was it that drove the Lord Jesus in His relationship with the disciples,

yes, it was the glory of the Father, but it was also without question an unwavering love for them.

And we're going to see that over and over again. You remember that in the context of what had taken

place, they had come together to celebrate ostensibly the Passover. And in that context,

Jesus went about instituting the Lord's Supper, the bread and the cup. And following that,

we have the foot washing, we have Jesus teaching the matter of loving one another. And in that context,

also revealing that Judas was going to betray Him. On the heels of that, He'd spoken to Peter who was

full of Himself and, hey, the rest of these dudes, they're walking out on you, but not me.

And we find that Jesus let Peter know that He was going to drop the ball and He was going to fail.

After that,

Jesus,

sensing the heart of His disciples, steps in and encourages them with very, very practical words.

And I cannot help but stop and recognize here this morning just how poignant and how precious the heart of

the Lord Jesus is in this passage. We find here that He is tender to the twelve and to what was going to

take place. He understood their heartaches and their anxieties, and He was very, very interested in their

well-being. There probably isn't a single one of you here this morning that didn't pick up on Monday

that something very significant happened at OSU. Am I right or wrong?

How many of you know that at OSU, there was an individual who took it upon himself to drive a car

and try to harm a number of different individuals, ultimately was shot. And it occupied the news for

hours on end. How many of you have picked up on the fact that it was all over? I remember,

truth of the matter is, I was driving back from deer hunting, turned on the radio, and what did I hear?

I heard something that happened at OSU, and it was like, whoa! My first thought after I heard that it

happened at OSU was, guess what? I thought about Emma. Emma, where are you? Are you out here today?

Children's Church. I thought about Emma, and I thought, well, is she okay? That was the first thought I had.

And the second thought I had was, I wonder how Tim and Meredith are doing. That was my second thought.

I thought, oh, you know, and just natural. You know, you think about people you care about, and you,

oh, man, I hope she's okay. And I shot up one of those bullet prayers as you're driving. You know,

I'm not one of those guys who has to pull over to the side of the road and close my eyes when I'm

praying. It was all right. We could cover it. And we think about things, and we react.

And here, when we think about the challenges of life, illustrations such as Monday kind of reminds

us that we live in a difficult world, and there are things that are constantly bombarding us and

challenging us and causing us to take our eyes off of the unvarying, unwavering certainty we have in

the Lord Jesus Christ. There are some of you sitting here this morning that have been in a doctor's office

and heard the most heartbreaking news. There are some of you here that have come home to an empty

house and found out that your spouse has left. There are some of you that have had that phone call

late at night, and you find that the child that you have invested your heart and your prayers and

your life and energy in has done something that is profoundly grievous and breaking your heart.

And in the midst of all of that, you find that the anxieties and the challenges of life are almost

overwhelming. What I want you to do this morning is listen very carefully as we see in this passage

an undeniable and sufficient remedy for the anxiety and the depression and the challenges that all of

us have in the daily life that we live in this broken world. I think it's important for us,

first of all, to recognize the context. And so Christ's context counts. What do you think about that?

It'd be wrong for us to actually just dive into John chapter 14 and say, all right, this is all about

John 14 · chapter mention

you guys feeling better about yourselves. I want you to think about where Jesus was because it's important.

Jesus was just moments away from the cross. He was about four, five, six hours. And Jesus knew exactly

what was coming. Isn't that right? He knew that he was going to suffer an incredibly hard and difficult death.

He knew he was going to take the sins of the whole world. And for us, dealing with our sin is bad enough.

But just imagine being absolutely sinless and having to deal with the sins of other people.

Furthermore, he also knew that his father was going to turn his face away and that that communion

and that intimacy that he had enjoyed from all eternity past was going to handle this momentary breach

and it was going to break his heart. And yet here we find the Lord Jesus in the midst of what he was

going to go through, stopping to think very carefully about those that he loved.

Here he was thinking about the emotional insecurity, the spiritual need of his 12.

And instead of pondering and focusing on himself, his primary concern was for those that he had loved

that had been given to him by the Father. And in the face of all that was going to take place,

his counsel and his encouragement to them was for their good, not for his own.

I think that's significant. Because the truth of the matter is, is that most of us,

when we find ourselves in difficult circumstances, we do not think the least bit about anybody else but

ourselves. And one of the things that should characterize those who sit under the teaching of the Word of God,

and I want to say this carefully so it resonates in your heart, one of the things that should characterize

those who sit under the teaching of the Word of God is that their lives should be

conformed, transformed

by the power of the Word of God and the illustration of the character of Christ.

By virtue of enjoying the ministry of the Spirit of God and the Word of God in your life, you ought to

consistently think less of yourself and more about others by virtue of thinking often about Jesus. Is that right?

Do you get that point? Don't lose it.

Can I tell you a little sidebar? This is not in my notes, but just something to hold on to.

People who think a lot about themselves are never happy. Can I say that slowly so you don't miss it?

Let me say it slowly because it's important. People, people who think a lot about themselves are never happy.

Okay, that's enough of that. Stop, Tim, while you're ahead.

I just want to drive the point home. Being like Jesus means

being others-focused

rather than self-focused. That's what we find here in Jesus.

In the face of what was in front of Him, His thoughts were about

others.

I am struck, very frankly, and convicted

by what Christ's love really looks like.

I'm struck by just how complete

and how blessed it was and is.

And I'm convicted about how shallow

my own love often is.

It's okay to think about

other people periodically, but

how about thinking about other people

when you're really deep in the

troubles of your own life?

Instead of

pouting and descending

into that swamp of self-pity

in the face of His betrayal,

His abandonment, His crucifixion,

His Father turning His face away,

here we see Jesus

in His unwavering love

for frail,

disobedient, broken

disciples

that He was willing to invest

His energy and life for.

So here's a point to hold on to.

Commit yourself

this morning

to learning more about

the love of Christ

because here's a very interesting truth.

I want you to get this.

Learning about the love of Christ

invariably transforms you

to love like Christ.

Can I say that carefully?

Learning about the love of Christ

transforms you

to love like Christ.

I want you to notice,

secondly,

in the face of this

circumstance,

here,

Jesus gives a command.

And Christ's counsel here

is pretty critical.

Let me break this down

into three parts for you

and kind of work our way

through the passage actually.

First of all,

Jesus gives His command

to obey.

He says here,

let not your hearts

be troubled.

Believe in God.

Believe also in me.

For one thing,

a troubled and persistently

traumatized heart

is a choice.

Again,

because this is important,

I'm going to say it slowly.

A troubled and persistently

traumatized heart

is a choice.

Jesus made it clear

to His disciples

that they could choose

to be troubled

or choose not to be troubled.

That's what He meant

when He said,

let not your hearts

be troubled.

How many of you recognize

that when God says something,

He says it

and He means it

and it's valuable.

It's to be held on to.

So when He says,

hey,

don't do this,

don't choose

to let your heart

be troubled.

Some of you are thinking

to yourself,

well,

I can't help it.

And I understand that.

But the fact of the matter

is that when Jesus said this,

He was speaking

gospel truth

and He was speaking

something for our value

and our sake.

And it's actually

a novel idea today

that we should actually

be able to control

our thought life

to a certain degree.

It's lost its popularity

in some realms,

the idea that,

hey,

we're actually responsible

for the way we think.

So let me kind of

work your way

into this with me.

It says,

we have some control

over where we let

our minds take us.

Some.

How many of you understand

what I mean by some?

How many of you,

don't raise your hands

and wave at me

because I know,

how many of you recognize

there are times

when your little pea brain

thinks the most despicable,

absolutely offensive,

unbelievably wicked things?

Nod your head

if you've had a problem

with that.

Okay,

there are a couple of you

that I think have reached

the point of entire

sanctification

or are brain dead

this morning.

Okay?

I can't remember

who it was.

Martin Luther?

He said that our hearts

are idol factories.

We're just full of wickedness.

Jeremiah says,

the heart is deceitful,

desperately wicked.

Who can know it?

And so here's the fact.

We do have some control

over where our minds take us.

We've all had our minds

bring up thoughts

that were absolutely despicable

and the first time

it comes up,

it's like,

oh,

can't be doing that.

Right?

We have complete control

over how long

we stay there.

We have complete control

we have complete control

over how long

we stay there.

One of the problems

with our contemporary culture

is we have failed

to recognize

that thoughts

produce actions

and actions

produce consequences.

Do you follow that?

Thoughts

produce actions

and actions

produce consequences.

And while we cannot

to a certain degree

control everything

that our mind

thinks about,

we are in complete control

over how long

we let our mind

be occupied

and consumed

by some of the most

destructive

and wicked

and despicable thoughts

you can imagine.

So let me put it

a different way

or just kind of

add on to this.

While having

a persistently

troubled mind

is absolutely natural

for the sinful soul,

it is not

to be

the normal

state

of the believer.

We'll continue

to deal with

our thought life

until Jesus

takes us home

or Jesus

comes back

but the fact

of the matter

is that

those who are

in Christ Jesus

are different

than those

who aren't.

We know the passage

it says this

if any man

be in Christ Jesus

he is a

what?

You don't have

to stay

the way

you were.

I love

telling people

that.

I love it.

One of the

sweet privileges

of the gospel

is to say

to people

you know what

you have

good reason

to be

absolutely

sorry

and sick

of the

consequences

of your

sin

and I have

good news

for you

you don't

have to

stay there.

Christ Jesus

died on the

cross

to deliver

you from

that sin

and to

help you

grow

and change

and so

we

in our

ongoing

struggle

with those

sinful thoughts

of our past

and the old

habits and

attitudes that

we have

we may

continue to

struggle with

it

we will

but we're

not

enslaved

by it

and why

would I

say we're

not enslaved

by it

for one

I am

reminded

in principle

of what

it says

in Galatians

Galatians 5:16

chapter 5

verse 16

just a

question

how many

of you

know

Galatians

Galatians 5:16

chapter 5

verse 16

and it's

a go to

verse

how many

of you

know

what a

go to

verse

is

let me

introduce

you to

a thought

a go to

verse

is one

to hang

on to

that you

need

on a

short

it kind

of

comes up

pretty

regularly

in your

life

okay

I'll give

you a couple

for Tim

Kenoyer

Tim Kenoyer

has

verses

that are

memorized

about

anger

you don't

have any

idea why

I would

memorize

those

verses

you know

Tim Kenoyer

has

verses

about

his

tongue

no

idea

why

I

would

memorize

those

Tim

Kenoyer

has

verses

that are

memorized

about

lust

and

passion

you know

idea

why

I

would

you know

it's

like

and here's

the deal

Galatians

Galatians 5:16

chapter 5

verse 16

how many of you

know it

raise your

hands if

you do

come on

raise your

entertain

me

you'll

stay here

till

one o'clock

here we go

here's

the deal

walk by

the spirit

and you

will

what

you will

not

fulfill

the lust

of the

flesh

how many

of you

are sick

and tired

of what

goes on

in that

fleshly

little

despicable

heart

you have

well

you don't

have to

be a

slave

rely upon the

Holy Spirit

to help

you

but I

really

like

hitting

myself

in the

head

with a

hammer

no

it

hurts

I want

you to

understand

in this

passage

when Jesus

says

let not

your hearts

be troubled

he is

calling us

to recognize

that we've

got a

responsibility

here

I want

you to

understand

as Jesus

gave this

command

he then

followed it

up with

some solid

reasons

and so I

want you to

think about

these solid

reasons for

not being

troubled

and that's

important

I was

listening to

a song

this morning

that was

very very

popular back

in 1988

1988

John's

laughing at

me

1988

some of

you weren't

even born

back then

okay

and I

debated

actually

pulling it

up on my

phone and

holding it

to the

microphone

so you

could hear

this and

say

but

John

help me

out here

you know

it's like

don't worry

be happy

I wrote

the words

to this

song

sing it

forget it

there's a

reason why

I don't

do these

things

more often

it's because

it's such

an abysmal

failure

but it

was a

very very

popular song

in 1988

about not

worrying

being happy

you know

it's like

don't worry

be happy

by the way

Billy where are

you thank you

for doing that

rap

good theology

great

just slow

down I

can't read

that fast

but other

than that

it was good

okay

a lot of

good thoughts

in that one

but here's

the deal

the world

gives us

very very

shallow

reasons

for not

being anxious

that's not

the way

Jesus is

here he is

saying to his

disciples

hey listen

don't

let

your heart

be troubled

why not

well

number one

believe in him

personally

look at the

passage

believe in

God

believe also

in me

and here

we are

Jesus is

speaking to

the disciples

and you can

imagine that

when Jesus

says believe

in God

the disciples

would have

said yeah

duh

I mean what

were they

they were

good Jewish

boys

did good

Jewish boys

believe in

God

I mean

what's

the deal

yes

he says

believe in

God

now you

can either

take this

as an

imperative

he's saying

believe in

God

believe in

me

or you

could take

it that

he's giving

an indicative

hey you

believe in

God

duh

believe in

me

why

who is

Jesus

he's God

the son

and when

we are

believing in

God

and we're

believing in

Jesus

what happens

to all the

things that

we are

unjustly

anxious

and worried

about

what happens

to them

well

how many

of you

have a

little

twilight

paris

tune

every now

and then

in your

head

you know

it's like

how's it

go

you know

God

is in

control

that's

that's my

traffic song

you know

it's like

God

is

okay

in case

you didn't

know it

I hate

H-A-T-E

capitals

and kind of

take it up

to 24

points

and bold

that I

hate

being

late

if I

have an

appointment

with you

and you

look out

you'll probably

see me drive

by about

10 minutes

early

I'm embarrassed

to show up

that early

so I take

an extra

circle around

the block

that's me

Jesus says

I want you

to believe

in me

personally

believe in

me

and so I

want you to

recognize

this morning

that

on a

practical

level

when you

find

yourself

flooded

with

anxiety

when you

find yourself

overwhelmed

by the

circumstances

and the

troubles

that you

are in

you can

either

choose

to go

ahead

and circle

the drain

yet another

time

or you

can

consciously

and deliberately

fix your

heart

upon the

absolute

certainty

of the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

and the

fact

that

when

he

hung

on

the

cross

and

he

died

he

said

precious

words

he said

it

is

finished

and beloved

when Jesus

looked at his

disciples who

he knew

were going

to abandon

him

and he

knew

were going

to be

overwhelmed

by the

anxiety

of the

moment

he said

to them

you believe

in the

father

you believe

in God

believe

in me

second

thing

that I

want you

to look

at here

in this

passage

is that

Jesus

also

says

believe

in his

promises

I

go

to prepare

a place

for you

and if

I go

and prepare

a place

for you

I will

come

again

and will

take

you

to

myself

that

where

I

am

you

may

be

also

we

don't

sing it

very often

anymore

but there

was a

song

when I

was

growing

up

that

people

liked

I've

got

a

mansion

just

over

the

hilltop

right

how many

of you

remember

that

good

old

song

it's

like

I've

got

a

mansion

you know

it's

a little

southern

sound

and it's

really nice

song

yeah

walk

those

streets

of what

gold

and

yeah

the idea

of having

a mansion

pretty

appealing

but that's

really not

what Jesus

was talking

about

the fact

of the matter

is

is that

here he

was

in the

shadow

of the

cross

telling

his

disciples

that

what

was

going

to

take

place

was

for

their

good

and

outcome

that's

favorable

he says

listen

in my

father's

house

are many

rooms

if it

were

not

so

would

I

have

told

you

that

I

go

to

prepare

what

was

he

going

to

prepare

for

them

he

was

going

to

prepare

a

way

for

them

to

spend

eternity

with

him

that

where

I

am

you

may

be

also

it's

understandable

that his

disciples

were

troubled

at the

prospect

of his

leaving

they'd

spent

three

years

with

him

they

had

laid

aside

their

careers

they'd

walked

away

from

their

families

they had

found

themselves

as

things

progressed

and got

closer and

closer to

the

cross

they found

themselves

to be

in some

senses

kind of

ostracized

by society

they were

hated

by the

religious

elite

they knew

it

they were

afraid for

their lives

and Jesus

says hey

listen by

the way I'm

leaving

I'm leaving

but the

good news

that Jesus

has he

says I

am leaving

I'm going

to heaven

and I

will return

so you

can be

with me

I wonder

how often

you actually

find yourself

thinking

about

what it's

going

to be

like

to be

with

Jesus

think

about

that

actually

thinking

about

what it's

going

to be

like

to be

with

Jesus

you know

a lot

of times

when we

think about

getting to

heaven

we're

thinking

about

our

physiological

issues

you know

it's

like

when I

get to

heaven

I won't

have

osteoporosis

or you

know I

won't be

a diabetic

and I

can have

all the

cake

I want

and you

know

we're

thinking

about

all these

kind of

superficial

things

the greatest

joy

of heaven

is not

going to

be

our

menu

it's

going to

be

Jesus

I love

that passage

you've heard

me cite it

so many

times

whom having

not seen

you love

do you know

who it's

talking about

talking about

Jesus

the fact

of the matter

is is that

here is

Jesus

and he's

saying to

his disciples

I'm going

to go

prepare a

place for

you

I will

come

again

I will

come

again

how often

do you

think about

that fact

Jesus

is coming

back

and he

is going

to take

you home

very

very

interesting

that the

New Testament

church

lived with

this sense

of

imminency

it's like

hey

Jesus

today

how many

of you

remember

Waleed

Bittar

who's

our

missionary

up there

in Canada

anytime

you call

Waleed

you know

what he

says on

the phone

when you

call him

and he

picks up

the phone

I've

recited it

before

he didn't

come

he's got

that accent

he didn't

come

he's always

disappointed

that Jesus

didn't come

but there's

tomorrow

there's

time

could come

tomorrow

and here

Jesus is

saying to

his disciples

listen

I'm going

to go

away

but hang

on

I'm coming

back

I'm coming

back

and so

here's the

thing I

want you

to focus

on

a sure

cure

for a

troubled

soul

is knowing

how the

story

ends

do you

understand

that

a sure

cure

for a

troubled

soul

is knowing

how the

story

ends

!

I

remember

I

remember

actually

speaking

with

individuals

who'd

had

the

surgery

and

were

sad

that

they'd

done

the

surgery

as a

grumble

well here

I am

I'm lying

on the

gurney

okay

and I'm

thinking

so how's

this story

going to

end

and I

thought

to myself

it really

doesn't

make a

difference

because

sooner

or later

I am

going to be

in heaven

and it

won't be

a problem

and here

is Jesus

talking to

his disciples

and he

says listen

I'm going

to come

again

I'm going

to take

you to

myself

that where

I am

you can

be also

so when

you find

yourself

caught up

in the

troubles

of this

life

and there

are

troubles

don't

ever

kid

yourself

you are

going to

have

troubles

until the

day

you

slip

into

eternity

I

remember

thinking

to myself

when I

was a

teenager

you know

what

this is

before I

could

drive

when I

start

driving

life's

going to

be

better

does

anybody

remember

being

that

airheaded

to think

that

when you

could start

driving

it would

be

better

Kevin

you remember

that

when I

started

driving

or when

I

graduate

from

high

school

there was

some

doubt

about

that

but

you

know

when I

graduate

from

high

school

it's

going

to be

better

!

When I

graduate

from

it's

going

to be

better

when I

see

Jesus

that's

the end

of the

story

and so

if you

find yourself

being

absolutely

overwhelmed

by the

challenges

of your

life

I want

to tell

you

something

number

one

believe

in

him

personally

believe

in

his

promises

and

third

believe

in

his

path

there

in

the

passage

Jesus

made

the

statement

you

know

verse

four

you

know

the

way

to

where

I'm

going

and

then

there's

good old

Thomas

verse

five

Lord

we

do

not

know

where

you

are

going

how

can

we

know

the

way

how

many

of

you

like

literalists

I

mean

people

who

read

the

fine

print

and

really

want

to

get

into

the

minutia

how

many

of

you

have

ever

signed

papers

to

buy

a

house

raise

your

hand

if

you

have

do

you

know

that

they

put

almost

a

full

tree

on

the

table

in

front

of

you

I

mean

it's

like

and

you

know

I've

actually

been

in

the

presence

of

someone

who

thought

they

needed

to

read

some

of

that

stuff

now

I

what

does

this

mean

on

page

14

stop

I

want

you

to

recognize

!

that

here

is

Jesus

dealing

with

Thomas

and

Thomas

was

a

he

wanted

to

know

the

fine

print

Jesus

said

hey

you

know

the

way

where

I'm

going

and

Thomas

said

no

no

no

just

a

minute

really

where

help

me

out

here

Jesus

what

are

the

details

and

what

does

Jesus

say

to

him

Jesus

said

to

him

I

am

the

way

the

truth

and

the

life

no

one

comes

to

the

father

except

through

me

I

love

that

Thomas

wanted

to

know

all

the

particulars

of

his

journey

isn't

that

right

it's

like

hey

so

you

go

down

150

feet

and

then

you

turn

right

and

then

you

you

know

Jesus

says

hey

trust

me

I'll

get

you

home

believe

in

me

I

am

the

way

the

truth

and

the

life

and

so

here

we

find

Jesus

making

it

undeniably

clear

relax

don't

fret

the

details

I

am

the

way

the

truth

and

the

life

and

no

one

comes

to

the

father

but

through

me

here's

the

point

apart

from

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

you

have

no

confidence

of

where

your

journey

is

taking

you

and

the

end

is

going

to

be

brutal

but

in

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

you

have

absolute

confidence

of

where

you're

going

to

spend

eternity

and

you

can

have

complete

confidence

in

not only

the